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[Redav]

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[pigmode]

I was a bit surprised to read them commenting negatively on the availability and reliability of the C-130J. I'd always thought the Hercules was doing very good in that department. And have the Brazilians even produced enough flying hours to back up the manufacturer's claim? I mean, their air force is so under-funded they recently had to step away from inducting all the ordered units into active service.
Wouldn't be the first time a procurement agency acted on numbers from a brochure.

Moving away from the C130 seems more of a budget move than anything else--one that could very well bite back given time.

 

[pigmode]

Spain orders 20 new Eurofighter Typhoon jets

The order from Spain maintains Typhoon production in the UK beyond the middle of the decade say BAE Systems.

ukdefencejournal.org.uk

 

[Picanha]

^^^Six infantrymen? Isn't that somewhat little in terms of mechanised infantry? I figured eight was the magic number when it came to mounted troops in IFVs?

No it was 7 in the Marder. One Gruppe in the Bw is around 10 men. So 3 crew plus 7 dismounts. With the A3 version it was only 6 dismounts then, so a Gruppe of 9.

 

[BCNTM]

UK MoD squashes Mosquito’s flight ambitions as it axes £30 million project

UK defence officials have cancelled the Project Mosquito 'loyal wingman' technology demonstrator being developed by a team including Spirit AeroSystems Belfast and Northrop Grumman, to instead pursue smaller and cheaper alternatives.

www.flightglobal.com

Good move - just stick to loads of small very fast drones

 

[Redav]

Portuguese Navy Unveils New Drone Mothership Project - Naval News

The Portuguese Navy (Marinha Portuguesa) unveiled details on a new drone motership project dubbed "plataforma naval multifuncional" (multifunctional naval platform).

www.navalnews.com

 

[av405]

Belgian army to receive 19 additional CASESAR NG self-propelled howitzers | Defense News June 2022 Global Security army industry | Defense Security global news industry army year 2022 | Archive News year

Belgian army to receive 19 additional CASESAR NG self-propelled howitzers

www.armyrecognition.com

This is in addition to 9 already ordered, bringing their total up to 28.

 

[TheKiwi]

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Any thoughts on this @muck Et. al.?

 

[muck]

All in all, a pretty good take and in-depth analysis; thanks for sharing! (Though I can't help but resent the reliance on dw.com. German media outlets are the last source of information I'd frequent on all matters military.)

A few thoughts …

Suspending conscription didn't produce a recruitment issue as much as a structural one. The transition being carried out half-assedly is where it all went wrong. The Germany military was to shrink itself into a professional army, but could not shed the over-sized leader corps necessary to train and lead a constant influx of conscripts. Imagine a school that shuts down two thirds of its classes but can't lay off any teachers.

I'm confused by the "living on the leftovers" part. Even with quite a few projects axed post-1990, I do not see this all-defining break with regards to the regeneration cycle which the speaker's hypothesis seems to require. That is to say, I'd argue that generational change took place at similar speeds as in other armies, if lacking in quantity at times. Notable delays (such as in the introduction of the NH-90 helicopter) were almost always the result of conflicts at the political level and not because of the army somehow having unlearnt the ability to renew its inventory.

The comparison with France seems somewhat misplaced to me. My understanding is the French budget indeed does not "manage to somehow pay for all of that". The French have very similar issues in terms of maintaining readiness – see this table for instance –; and their manpower includes a sizable gendarmerie shored up by the civilian power whom it supports. Germany has never been a naval power either, failing spectaculary whenever she tried to convince herself otherwise, and is required neither by geopolitics nor NATO strategy to compete with France in that regard. Comparing concrete levels of ambition and the degree of their being realised would be more worthwhile, me thinks.

Those points on the industrial side of things were good, although they didn't touch on a key issue with regard to the relationship between the public purse and private contractors in this country. I daresay that companies like KMW are far from struggling to "keep the lights on". In my mind, the problem is rather that after two decades of underspending and with an electorate strongly opposed to increased public debt, a practice of concluding business has manifested itself in Germany that may be not uniquely German but is brought to the extreme in these parts.

Essentially, we're religiously devoted to the sunken cost fallacy. If you want to sell a product or a service to the German government, you're expected to drastically understate your price so that Berlin can justify to the tax payer its concluding a contract with you. Of course the allocated funds will run out before the project concludes, but then they'll ask parliament for more cash (a.k.a. your true price) on the grounds that, despite the (putative) cost overruns, it'd be cheaper to see the programme through than kill it now. This system is critically vulnerable to abuse.

And this issue is greatly exacerbated by the political implications of multilateral armament programmes, which Berlin is mortally afraid to abandon so as to not appear as a "bad neighbour". Case in point, Germany is still pursuing the MAWS maritime patrol aircraft programme with France despite having 12 P-8A's on order and no need to consider their replacement anytime soon. What good friends we are, no?

Spending timetables and spending efficiency were excellent points, and that bit on bureaucracy was painfully spot-on.

One aspect I didn't agree with at all – and don't agree with every time a German member brings it up here – is that stuff about consultants, which has basically devolved into a silly meme from where I'm standing. Yes, those contracts with consulting firms have been an additional drain on the budget – but they also produced results which the administrative apparatus of the military woefully failed to deliver.

The bureaucracy-defying approach of the much-maligned Katrin Suder, a former consultant-turned-undersecretary for armament, was the driving force behind what few successful projects there were in recent years (like the C-130J, H145M or the A400M engine update). I've read interviews with dumbfounded military programme managers confessing how shocked they were when Suder encouraged them to call her after business hours if need be. I'm strongly against outsourcing in the military sphere, but if anything they should've hired more bloody consultants.

A dysfunctional system cannot reform itself, especially not if that reform would entail declaring oneself redundant.

 

[TheKiwi]

Thanks @muck

Can I suggest that you email him those comments - he seems pretty open to feedback.

 

[BravoZulu]

UK:
The UK’s stock of Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles will be upgraded on Royal Navy submarines to ensure the weapon is even more effective against future threats.

The UK’s stock of Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) will be upgraded on Royal Navy submarines to ensure the weapon is even more effective against future threats.

In a £265 million contract with the US Government, with maintenance and technical support at the UK sites of BAE Systems, Babcock International and Lockheed Martin, the Royal Navy’s Astute-Class submarines will be armed with an enhanced Block V standard missile, capable of striking severe threats at a range of up to 1,000 miles.

The upgraded missile will be able to travel further than the previous Block IV iteration, maintaining a precision-strike capability that is unmatched in range and accuracy. The upgrade will also make the weapon less vulnerable to external threats, with modernised in-flight communication and target selection.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/265-million-missile-upgrade-for-uk-submarines

 

[BravoZulu]

Sweden has committed to buying more Archer 155 mm mobile howitzers from BAE Systems, after signing a letter of intent at the Paris-based defense exhibition Eurosatory this week.

The Swedish Defense Materiel Administration and BAE Systems Bofors took the first step in establishing another artillery battalion in line with Sweden’s defense strategy, which runs until 2025.

Mikael Frisell, head of the Swedish administration, and Lena Gillström, CEO of the BAE organization, signed the letter in front of the Archer vehicle on display in the company’s stand.

Sweden is the first customer to buy Archer, and BAE has recently delivered the first 48 Archer vehicles to the Swedish army. The system has been around for five years.
https://europe-cities.com/2022/06/15/sweden-undertakes-to-buy-more-archer-155-mm-howitzers/

 

[BravoZulu]

Germany has signed a statement of intent to join the Finnish-led, Common Armoured Vehicle System, CAVS programme. The official joining agreement is due to be signed before the end of 2022. Germany will be the fifth country to join the first stage of the multinational cooperation. Finland, Latvia and Estonia entered into the programme in 2019 and Sweden in 2021. Patria as the chosen provider of 6x6 vehicle platform is responsible for system development within CAVS.

The joint programme is open to other countries sharing similar requirements with the mutual consent of the participating countries. Within the CAVS programme Latvia has ordered more than 200 personnel carrier armoured vehicles in August 2021, of which Patria has delivered already over a dozen. Finland signed a letter of intent in August 2021 for 160 new personnel vehicle carriers and pre-series deliveries for Finland take place in June. Sweden signed an R&D agreement earlier this month for the research and product development phase.
https://www.patriagroup.com/newsroo...has signed a statement,before the end of 2022.

 

[BravoZulu]

France:
The French Army has started the process of quickly procuring American-made loitering munitions as part of a longer-term effort to field remotely operated weapon systems, according to officials.

The service is looking to add AeroVironment’s Switchblade to its inventory within the next six months, Col. Arnaud Goujon, the Army’s chief of plans, told reporters at the Eurosatory defense expo, which was held last week outside Paris.

The French Armed Forces Ministry confirmed the country is in the process of launching a Foreign Military Sales request “for the acquisition of Switchblade remote-operated ammunition.”

“This launch aims to set up a first urgent capacity for the benefit of the French forces,” the ministry wrote.

https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2022/06/22/france-requests-switchblade-loitering-munition-to-fill-urgent-capability-gap/#:~:text=France%20requests%20Switchblade%20loitering%20munition%20to%20fill%20'urgent'%20capability%20gap,-By%20Vivienne%20Machi&text=PARIS%20%E2%80%94%20The%20French%20Army%20has,weapon%20systems%2C%20according%20to%20officials.

 

[BravoZulu]

Spain:
Eurofighter GmbH, NATO EF2000 and Tornado Development, Production and Logistics Management Agency (NETMA), and Eurojet Turbo GmbH today signed the Halcón contract that will support the continued modernisation of the Spanish Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoon fleet.

The Halcón agreement, announced at the ILA air show in Berlin, will see Spain receive 16 single-seater and 4 twin-seater fighters equipped with electronic (e-scan) radar which will replace part of the legacy F-18 fleet. It will increase the Spanish Eurofighter fleet to 90 aircraft.

The aircraft, as with those in the German Quadriga programme signed in 2020, will also be equipped with future-proofed hardware, software, and an even broader multi-role capability for engaging air and ground targets.

https://www.eurofighter.com/news-an...-halcon-contract-for-new-eurofighter-typhoons

 

[BravoZulu]

Sweden:
Saab has today signed a contract with and received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) for the GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft.

The order includes two GlobalEye aircraft with deliveries planned during 2027. The order value is approximately SEK 7.3 billion and the contract period is 2022-2027. The contract also includes options that enable FMV to order up to two additional GlobalEye.

https://www.saab.com/newsroom/press...ocial&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=saab-some

 

[BravoZulu]

UK:
The British Army’s main effort is now mobilisation to deter Russian aggression, and it must accept ‘ruthless prioritisation’ to this end, General Sir Patrick Sanders has said.

Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute’s Land Warfare Conference in London, the British Chief of the General Staff (CGS) articulated his army’s immediate answer to the war in Ukraine and reflected on the longer-term responses that will be required. His address came just prior to the commencement of a major NATO summit in Madrid, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is attending.

‘This is our 1937 moment,’ Sanders said, appealing to members of the audience to do all they can to deter further conflict. He cautioned against the assumption that the war in Ukraine would remain limited, or that Russia was destined to fail, observing instead that battlefield defeat catalyses rapid learning. Any respite for Ukraine and its partners is temporary, he said, and Russia has demonstrated the capacity to regenerate forces and win in the past.

The CGS also framed events in Europe within the global geopolitical moment. ‘In meeting a revanchist Russia, we cannot be guilty of myopically chasing the ball’, said Sanders. ‘Defence cannot ignore the exponential rise and chronic challenge of China, not just within the South China Sea but through its sub-threshold activities across the globe. Beijing will be watching our response to Moscow’s actions carefully.’

The CGS spoke about the limits of deterrence by punishment that have been exposed by the Russian invasion. Deterrence by denial in the European theatre therefore has a new importance, and the British response, according to Sanders, must be a mix of forward basing and very-high-readiness forces. Land power and armies are central to this response.

The burden for this adjusted posture must fall increasingly on European NATO members, said Sanders, because ‘taking up the burden in Europe means we can free more US resources to ensure that our values and interests are protected in the Indo-Pacific’.

‘Ukraine has also shown that engaging with our adversaries and training, assisting and reassuring our partners is high-payoff activity… With the right partner and in the right conditions persistent engagement and capacity building can be really effective. [The UK’s] Operation Orbital has made a key contribution to preparing the Armed Forces of Ukraine for this fight and it continues to expand exponentially’.

Sanders repeatedly warned against trying to do everything: ‘we will need to suppress our additive culture and guard against the “tyranny of and”—we can’t do everything well and some things are going to have to stop; it will mean ruthless prioritisation’. He said the force must ‘deprioritise where necessary.

Explaining the way forward for the British Army—and noting concerns that should sound familiar to an Australian audience—the CGS said that ‘we must be honest with ourselves about future soldiers’ timelines, capability gaps and risks’. Long-term efforts are important but must occur in conjunction with must faster change occurring ‘from the line of march’.

The CGS identified four immediate ‘focused lines of effort’ for his army.

First, and most importantly, boosting readiness. NATO needs highly ready forces that can deploy at short notice for the collective defence of alliance members. Deterring Russia means more of the army ready more of the time, and ready for high-intensity war in Europe. So we will pick up the pace of combined arms training, and major on urban combat. We will rebuild our stockpiles and review the deployability of our vehicle fleet… The time has come to be frank about our ability to fight if called upon.
Second, we will accelerate the modernisation outlined in future soldier… We will seek to speed up the delivery of planned new equipment including long-range fires, attack aviation, persistent surveillance and target acquisition, expeditionary logistic enablers, ground based air defence, protected mobility, and the technologies that will prove pivotal to our digital ambition: communications and information services and electronic warfare. Most importantly, this will start now—not at some ill-defined point in the future.
Third, we will rethink how we fight. We’ve been watching the war in Ukraine closely and we are already learning and adapting… Many of the lessons are not new—but they are now applied. We will double-down on combined arms manoeuvre, especially in the deep battle, and devise a new doctrine rooted in geography, integrated with NATO’s war plans and specific enough to drive focused, relevant investment and inspire the imagination of our people to fight and win if called upon.

Fourth and finally, Sanders said he is ‘prepared to look again at the structure of our army. If we judge that revised structures will make the army better prepared to fight in Europe, then we will follow Monty’s advice and do “something else”. Now of course adapting structures has implications for the size of the army… Obviously our army has to be affordable; nonetheless, it would be perverse if the CGS was advocating reducing the size of the army as a land war rages in Europe and Putin’s territorial ambitions extend into the rest of the decade, and beyond Ukraine’.

Sanders reiterated that people remain central to the army and its effectiveness. He observed that apparent technological superiority has not translated into a will to fight by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine. He observed that Russian forces are suffering from ‘moral decay’ and that the British Army must protect its own ‘moral component’ and ‘fighting spirit’. ‘To put it simply’, said Sanders, ‘you don’t need to be laddish to be lethal—in a scrap you have to truly trust those on your left and right’.

He asked members of his army to cut through unnecessary bureaucracy: ‘like any public institution we have accumulated some barnacles that slow us down—but we are not just any institution, so it’s time to strip them back’.

General Sanders also noted that mobilisation is not simply an internal activity, and that industry is a key partner, remarking that ‘We can’t be lighting the factory furnaces across the nation on the eve of war; this effort must start now if we want to prevent war from happening’.
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/c...sh Army says it must mobilise to deter Russia

 

[BCNTM]

Flygsystem 2020: Sweden's Secret Stealth Fighter That Could Break All the Rules?

The Flygsystem 2020 stealth fighter could be impressive looking at the history of Swedish aviation. Or, it could be already canceled.

www.19fortyfive.com

 

[muck]

Here's a funny one … a routine air policing sortie of French Air Force Rafale fighter jets became an international incident on July 5 when a light aircraft they forced to land turned out to be piloted by Alain Berset, Minister of the Interior of neighbouring Switzerland, visiting France on a private joy ride. The French authorities say that Berset entered restricted air space over Avord Air Base and failed to comply with air traffic control instructions. Berset later claimed to have misunderstood their instructions. He now faces a fine and may even have to reimburse the French government for the costs of scrambling fighter jets. Berset also landed himself in hot water back in Bern, where he is accused of having damaged Switzerland's reputation. Moreover, Berset belongs to a party that has been condemning air travel as being harmful to the climate. (Source, German)

 

[BCNTM]

Drones to deploy onboard British aircraft carrier again

The experimental trials, which are closely associated with the Navy’s Vampire Phase 1 programme, will test QinetiQ Target Systems’ Banshees in training and ISR scenarios.

ukdefencejournal.org.uk